The End Of Knight
by Jayrich20
Summary: This story answers the question that no one has the guts to ask. What if the Dark Knight...was no more? What if Batman died? And I don't mean as an old man.
1. Chapter 1

The End of Knight

"Good Evening. I'm Snapper Carr, and here's our Top Story…"

Inside of Wayne Manor, Dick Grayson sits on the couch in the main Living Room, attentively watching the huge-screen TV in front of him. There's a news report on, and he's trying to find out any and all information he can about a recent disturbance at Arkham.

"Just last night, several inmates at Arkham almost literally brought the Asylum down to the ground as they made their escapes. Major repairs will be needed for the Asylum, but it is still functional enough to hold the remaining prisoners. Those who escaped last night include Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, The Mad Hatter, The Riddler, Harley Quinn, and Gotham's most dangerous psychopath, The Joker. We now actually have footage of the self-proclaimed Clown Prince of Crime leading the charge as the villains make their escape."

The footage runs on the TV and Joker's maniacal laugher blares through the speakers, as Dick just watches with a stone face, much like his father figure, Bruce. "Hysterical." He says, not amused by any of Joker's actions.

"Of all the criminals to escape, the Joker & Harley have keep the most quiet; not being involved in any criminal action since their breakout. But we will have the up to the moment report if any of that changes."

"Honestly Master Dick, you are almost becoming as obsessed as Master Bruce." Alfred says, grabbing the remote and changing the channel. "A young man your age should watch different programming. Isn't that new drama on right about now? What is it called…the C.O?"

Dick laughs as he stands up off the couch and turns to him. "Nah, there showing reruns. But I'll find something else." He goes to flip through the channels when he hears footsteps coming down the stairs. He turns to see Bruce, wearing a serious & cold look on his face, ready for action. Dick immediately recognizes the look and walks over to him.

"We're going on patrol?" He asks.

Bruce nods his head. "The Joker must be planning something big. He usually strikes right after his escapes from Arkham. To wait this long, he must have something planned on a city-wide scale."

The two turn and walk toward the Grandfather clock that covers the secret entrance to the Batcave, when Bruce's Cell Phone rings. He stops and takes it out of his pocket, and answers the call.

"Bruce Wayne here."

"_BRUCE!! YOU…YOU GOTTA…ESCAPE!!!"_

It's Barbara Gordon's voice. She sounds injured, and half-conscious. And her voice also has a somewhat gurgling sound to it, as if blood was trying to pool up in her mouth. "Barbara! What's going on? What happened?" Bruce asks her.

"_It…It was…Harley…& Joker."_ She says. _"They…raided my computer files…THEY KNOW THE TRUTH! THE JOKER'S COMING AND HE KNOWS THE TRU—…"_

"Barbara? BARBARA!!!" The next thing Bruce hears is the dial tone, and it chills him down to the bone. "Dick, get in the Batcave!"

"What? Bruce what's going…?" Before Dick can finish his question, a pair of headlights shines through the front window of the mansion. They shine brighter, and brighter, until a large Armored Purple Cadillac crashes through the window, sending shards of glass everywhere. Dick covers himself up as Bruce covers Alfred. The car comes to a stop right in front of the three, and the first one to step out is the Clown Prince of Crime himself.

"BRUCIE, I'M HOME!!!"

He walks around the car as Harley stands up from the passenger side. "Love what you've done with the place, Bruce." He says. "Although your taste in curtains is just completely dreadful."

"Martha Stewart you are not." Harley adds, jumping out of the car.

"Look, I don't know what you want." Bruce says, trying to put up his rich guy's façade. "But you can take anything. Just please don't hurt…"

"Oh, cut the spoiled, pampered, playboy act, Bruce." Joker says, before landing a hard punch into his gut. As Bruce keels over, Joker starts whispering in his ear. "I know everything. Lovely Barbara was only to glad to share your true identity, Bat-Boy." He straightens up and smiles widely as he turns to Harley. "And to think, I have my best girl Harley to thank for all of this!"

Harley grins and giggles, flattered by his words. "Aw shucks, Mr. J." She says. "I was just looking for some good internet porn."

Joker turns back to the three. "But what she found was a hidden file, containing her information on Batgirl, and information on where she received her weapons. And it all lead to you." He walks up close to Bruce again, who's holding his gut. "You would've been proud, Brucie. She held out so long from my torture without screaming. But one quick gunshot to the spine…and she was screaming just as much as her blood was spilling."

Joker begins to laugh. The same maniacal, horrific laugh Dick heard on TV moments ago. The same laugh Bruce has heard countless times. And finally, Bruce decides to stop hiding. He rushes Joker and spears him into his car, before looking back at Dick. "Get to the Cave! NOW!!!"

Dick doesn't question him this time; instead he runs over to the clock and sets the time to 10:47pm. It slides open to the left and Dick runs down the long, winding stairs, leading to the legendary Batcave. Meanwhile, Harley is trying to pull Bruce off of Joker. "You get off my Puddin' you big rodent-loving freak!" She keeps pulling, until she feels something metal smack the back of her head. She falls onto the car, as Alfred is seen holding a Frying Pan.

"Terribly sorry, miss." He says. "But I believe you've overstayed your welcome."

"Heh…that's funny for amateur hour, gramps." She says. "But leave the good jokes to the professionals!" She hops up to her feet and performs a spin kick, nailing Alfred in the jaw and sending him flying into a nearby wall. At that moment, Joker nails a groin shot to Bruce, finally getting him off of him. He follows up with a right cross, before turning to Harley.

"Pooh, do you mind attending to Bird-Boy?" He says.

"No problem, Puddin'." She says, reaching in the car and pulling out her trademark giant wooden mallet. "I'll be his loving play date!" She joyfully dashes off to the opening, then down the stairs and into the Batcave. Once she reaches the bottom, she sees no sign of the Boy Wonder. But his suit isn't in the case, and there are weapons taken from the vault. "Come out, Robin." She says, playfully. "Harley wants to give you a big kiss!"

"KISS THIS!!!" Robin leaps out from the shadows and hits her with a flying kick in the chest, sending her stumbling into a glass case holding the Ventriloquist's Dummy. He charges in for another attack, but Harley recovers just in time to see him. She lifts the mallet up, swings it, and nails him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. He lands & slides against the ground, and holds his chest in agonizing pain.

"HA! IT'S A HOMERUN!!!" Harley says. "Barry Bonds ain't got nothing on me!"

Robin slowly climbs to his feet and starts backing away as Harley stalks him like a lioness stalks her prey, mallet raised on her shoulder, ready to strike. He keeps backing up, until his wall is up again a broken glass case. His eyes wander downward and he sees the fallen sign that the case belongs to. It reads, 'Freeze's Freeze Ray.'

"Pucker up…cause this one is a killer." She says.

Robin waits for the right moment, as she pulls back on her Mallet. He then takes action; and in one move, he leaps backwards, grabs the gun, and fires it at Harley full blast. Almost instantly, Harley is submersed in a block of ice up to her shoulders. She drops the mallet onto the floor, as Robin breathes a deep sigh of relief. But it only last a moment, as he remembers Bruce might need his help. He gets up and dashes up the stairs, still holding his ribs. Once he reaches the top, he sees Joker getting in a cheap shot to Bruce, and sending him to the floor. Joker then pulls out a gun and aims it at Bruce.

"THE GRAND FINALE, BRUCIE!!!" Joker says. "It's time to bid a Goodnight…to the Dark Knight!"

"NOOO!"

"POW!!!"

The sound of the shot echoes through the entire mansion, and even through the Batcave. Bruce looks at himself to see if he's hit, but there are no wounds. He then sees Alfred lying on the ground in front of him, a pool of blood expanding under him.

"ALFRED!!!"

He goes over to check on him. There's a gunshot hole dead center through his heart, and the blood keeps pouring out. "Master…Bruce…it was an honor…to serve you…"

"No! Alfred!" Bruce tries to keep him awake, but it's of no use. Within short moments, his eyes close, and he passes on. Robin looks from the Batcave opening in pure shock, but Bruce look turns to that of the cold, hearted Batman that criminals have nightmares about.

"You know, it's just so hard to get good help these days." Joker says, laughing maniacally. Bruce just stands up and charges him at full speed. He leaps into the air, and Joker lets off another shot.

"POW!!!"

The shot grazes Bruce's arm, but does nothing to slow him down. He lands on top of the Joker and wraps his hands around his neck. As the Joker struggles to get free, they tumble & roll closer to the Batcave entrance. Robin ducks out of the way as the struggle leads to the entrance. The two roll and fall down the stairs, until they finally hit the bottom. They slowly climb to their feet, with the Joker just beating out Bruce. But before he can grab his gun, Bruce attacks him with a flurry of punches, knocking him around like a body bag. After dozens of shots, he lands a Haymaker that sends Joker flying to the ground. Unfortunately, it also sends him landing right by his gun. Joker picks it up and points it at Bruce, who quickly grabs a Batarang and flings at him, deflecting his arm upward.

"POW!!!"

The gun goes off, and the Bullet strikes against a stalactite, causing it to crumble from its base and teeter over the two. Before Joker can fire off another shot, Bruce jumps him and tries to wrestle the gun away. As they struggle for power once more, the stalactite breaks from its base and plummets downward towards them. Robin sees it and warns them.

"BRUCE!!!"

Bruce notices the shadow the stalactite is emitting growing on the ground. He quickly grabs Joker and dives out of the way. But the force of the stalactite hitting the ground sends them further than Bruce wanted…and over a nearby cliff. Robin quickly rushes down the stairs to save Bruce. As he runs towards the cliff, he sees a hand grasping the ledge, hanging on for dear life. It's the Joker's hand. Robin slowly creeps closer, on guard from any of Joker's tricks. Once he reaches the ledge, he sees Joker hanging for his life, and Bruce hanging on to the Joker by his waist.

"NNNGGHH! Come on, son. Why don't you help up Uncle Joker?" He says. "Besides…if I fall down, Bats takes the ride with me."

Robin's reluctant to help, but he realizes Joker has a point. Bruce is in a position where the only way to stay up, is to hang on to Joker. He shuffles closer, and Joker lets out his hand for Robin to grab and hoist him up. Bruce looks up at them, and notices something frightening. The Joker has his trademark Joy Killing Buzzer in the hand that's stretched out. It packs enough Voltage to eliminate even Bane, much less the Boy Wonder. The last thing he wants is for Robin to go down…and Bruce makes his decision.

"NO!!!"

He delivers a solid punch to Joker's gut, causing him to lose his grip on the cliff. A split second later, Joker screams and they both start to fall.

"BRUCE! NO!!!"

Robin runs over to a glass case as fast as he can, hearing Joker's screams fading. He grabs a Bat-Grapple out of a nearby broken glass case. Activating it, he runs back over to the cliff and aims it downward, in hopes of snagging Bruce. But as he's about to fire, he hears a sound. A sound he never wanted to hear. A sound that will remain with him forever. It's a sickening Thud, and it echoes throughout the entire Cave. His heart stops, and a look of pure horror fills his face.

"PUDDIN'!!!" Harley screams in horror, knowing the same fate as befallen her love as it has Robin's mentor. The Dark Knight, the man who took him in when his family was taken from him, has just been taken himself. Batman…is dead.


	2. Chapter 2

The End of Knight 2

"No…"

Robin stands at the edge of the cliff, staring down into the darkness. The sound of the sickening thud echoes through his mind, yet he doesn't want to believe it. He doesn't want to believe that his only Father figure is now dead, at the hands of his worse enemy, who also met his end. "No…he can't be dead. He just can't."

"Face it, kid." Harley says solemnly. "The bat's dead. Along with my Puddin'."

"NO!" Robin picks up the Freeze Gun off the ground and aims it at Harley, intending to finish the job and freeze her completely. Harley doesn't even flinch at the sight of it, though.

"Go ahead, kid." She tells him, sounding like she did before she went loony toon. "I got nothing to live for. Just…get it over with."

His finger is on the trigger as the gun trembles in his hand. His mind is full of rage. He wants to make someone pay for Bruce's death. And since the Joker went with him, why not his right-hand gal? But as he's about to pull back on the trigger, he notices the look on her face. It's no longer the look of a psychotic Hench-girl, bent on causing as much chaos & destruction as the Joker wanted her to. No, it's Harleen Quinzel, the promising Psychiatric Doctor, before the Clown Prince of Crime corrupted her. Seeing this is enough to make Robin drop the Freeze Gun, as he remembers what his mentor would've said.

"Bruce wouldn't wanted this." He says to himself. "He wouldn't have wanted me to do this."

An Hour Later…

Police & News crews swarm Wayne Manor. It didn't take long for word to get out about Bruce's secret identity as Batman, and it's now being heralded as the story of the century. Inside, Dick, out of his Robin outfit, sits solemnly & quietly on the couch as the police do their work. Harley has already been shipped off to Arkham, surprisingly putting up no resistance. Alfred's body has also been shipped out. Finally, after a long wait, Dick sees several officers bringing up the bodies of Bruce & the Joker. He gets up and runs over to see them, a small glimmer of hope inside that Bruce has survived, and is just severely injured. When he gets there, he gets an up close look, and realizes that both of them are indeed dead. He sees the Joker's face first. He's wearing his trademark mad grin, wider & creepier than usual. Dick then looks across at Bruce, and notices a peaceful look on his face. Almost as if he were saying, 'Even if I die, I know you'll be coming with me, and Dick is safe.' Dick turns away, just as Commissioner Gordon approaches him.

"Dick." He says. "I can't imagine how hard it is to lose Bruce. He was a great man, both as himself and the Batman. I'm so sorry. Come on, you don't need to be around here. Let's take you over to the station."

"Commissioner?" Dick asks. "Is…is Barbara OK?"

Gordon is hesitant to answer. But feels that Dick is owed a response. Especially after all he's been through. "Barbara's in the hospital. The doctor's say the bullet went through her spine. It's…possible that she could never walk again."

Its just more news that weighs heavy on Dick's heart. But he feels that he has to do this. "Is…is it OK if I go see her?"

"Yeah." Gordon says. "Right now, she needs to see a familiar face. I have to stay here and wrap things up. I'll have a squad car send you over." And with that, Gordon goes right back to work, ordering his officers to wrap up all information on the scene, and keep the press out. Two officers accompany Dick to the door and exit out with him. Immediately, they get swamped by a legion of reporters, photographers & cameramen. The two officers do an excellent job of keeping them at bay, and from forcing interviews from Dick. As they get to the squad car, Dick looks out in the crowd of media and sees some familiar faces…Lois Lane & Clark Kent. Clark sees him and nods his head. Dick nods back, before hopping into the car with the officers. A moment later, the car speeds off, away from the horrific scene.

30 Minutes Later…

"Here you go, son."

The two officers open the door to Barbara's hospital room. As Dick walks in, he sees Barbara lying on the hospital bed, and immediately his heart sinks. The officers leave the two alone, as Dick approaches her bed. "Barbara…I…"

"I know, Dick." She says. "The Doctor's told me. But hey, at least I got my health & good looks." Dick can't bear to look at her like this, so he turns his head. Unfortunately, he sees the TV in the room, and the reports coming in from Wayne Manor. "Ever since it happened, they've been broadcasting it non-stop."

"Barbara, how did they find out Bruce's identity, but not mine?" Dick asks.

"I was able to log onto Bruce's computer and delete most of the Batman files." She tells him. "The police & everyone else will just think he was hiding it from you." She smiles at him, expecting him to turn his head and smile back. But he doesn't. "Dick, what's wrong?"

"I should've saved him." He says, turning to her and shaking with anger. "The cops said Joker had a Joy-Buzzer in his hand. The same hand he reached out to me with, and that's why Bruce punched Joker to make him fall…but I could've found a way to save him. I could've used the Bat-Grapple! Or…or use the Freeze Ray to…"

"Dick!" She yells, snapping him out of it. "We all knew the risk we took when we put on the uniform…Bruce most of all. He did it to save your life. He died…so that we could live safe from that Psychotic Clown's wrath."

"You call this safe?" He says, referring to her being in a hospital bed. "You probably won't be able to walk again!"

"Yeah." She says. "But at least the Joker won't do this to anyone else." Dick wants to argue more, but doesn't want to make Barbara upset, fearing for her condition. Instead, he just sits down on the bed beside her, as she sits up and puts her arm around him, comforting him over this tragedy.

5 Days Later…

"Ashes to ashes…Dust to dust."

It's late morning, around 10am, and thousands have gathered at the Gotham Cemetery for Bruce Wayne's funeral. Everyone from fellow Billionaires, business associates, to even some members of the Justice League have attended. Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman stands in front of the coffin, shedding tears. She wishes she had taken the time to get to know him better. They both knew that something was there, but neither acted upon it. And she regrets it deeply. Hidden within the large crowd, wearing a mask, is Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face, who has conflicted feelings about this whole ordeal. Half of him is happy, because with Batman & Joker dead, Gotham could easily come under his control. But the other half is grieving, because a dear friend in Bruce Wayne is now dead. Out of everyone here, Dick stands in the front row, as the Paul-Bearers slowly begin to lower the casket into the ground. As he watches, someone puts their hand on his shoulder. He looks over to see that it's Clark Kent.

"How're you holding up?" He asks.

"Good." Dick answers. "They put me up in a Safe House. Say that since I'm not 18 yet, I need to be under watch."

"Yeah." Clark says. " Bruce was a great man. And he did a great job raising you. His sacrifice made the world a lot safer from that Psycho. And don't worry about the criminals who escaped from Arkham. The Justice League has agreed to have some members hold watch over Gotham until they're all caught."

Just then, Diana approaches the two. "I'll be leading the team here, Dick." She tells him. "I won't let madness overrun Bruce's city. Gotham will be safe."

"That's good to hear. It means a lot." Dick replies half-heartedly. He's happy to hear the news from them, but is regretful that this situation even happened. Bruce's coffin is lowered into the grave, and the crowd starts to disperse. Dick starts to make his way over to his police escort car when he bumps into a Funeral attendee. He looks back to apologize, and notices the man…even through the mask he could notice him.

"Two-Face!" He says, silently & angrily.

"Easy, kid." Two-Face tells him putting his hands up, indicating he wants no problems. "I'm just here to pay my respects to the dead."

"That's funny." Dick replies. "Considering all the times you tried to kill Batman."

"That was business." Two-Face replies. "And before I knew Bruce was behind the suit. All I wanted was to run Gotham with an Iron Fist. I never cared whether the Bat was living or pushing up daisies, but he kept getting in my way." He turns away from Dick, and looks at the Gravediggers putting the dirt into Bruce's grave. "Take some advice, kid. Get outta town while you still can. A new regime is coming in…and things might get a little…bloody."

Dick knows exactly what Two-Face means by that. He's battle him enough times with Batman to know what the Mob Boss is capable of. But he also knows its no use in confronting him here. So he turns away, and heads back to the police car. Ready to leave this depressing scene.

Later that night…

"Yeah, I'm OK."

Dick is sitting inside his hotel room at the Police assigned Safe House. He's on the phone, talking to Barbara, who's checking up on him. "Look, you don't have to worry about me like I'm some kid. I'm only a year younger than you. OK, I'll visit you tomorrow. Goodbye." He hangs up the phone and turns to the TV, sitting down on his bed. Seeing the news coming on, he quickly changes the channel, not wanted to hear anymore about Bruce's death. But as he finds something interesting on, he hears a scream come from out his window.

"HELP!!!"

He turns to the window, but then quickly disregards it, thinking it's his mind playing tricks from all the stress he's gone through. That's what he thinks…at least until he hears it again.

"HELP!!!"

Convinced that the voice is real, he gets up and goes towards the window. His eyes dart around, looking for the trouble, until he spots a nearby alleyway below. He sees several thugs surrounding a helpless woman, and one of them is playing tug-of-war with her purse.

"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!" She screams.

"SHUT UP & COUGH UP THE PURSE, LADY!!!" The thug says, backhanding her to the ground and snatching the purse away. "It's not like the Batman's gonna save you, tonight."

"Yeah, he's too busy pushing up daisies!" Another one adds. They all start to laugh, as Dick start filling up with rage. He wants to do something to stop them. Batman would. Batman wouldn't hesitate to. But his Robin outfit was thrown out, so the cops wouldn't see it. And two officers are guarding the door. He thinks…and comes up with an idea.

Running over to his closet, he opens the door and picks out three articles of clothing: a Black Sweater, Black Jeans & a Black skullcap. He quickly puts them on, then shuts off the lights to his room. He goes back to the window and looks out of it, to see the thugs still there, and angrier than before.

"37 dollars?!" The leader says. "Oh lady, you can do better than that! Heh, how much do you think her necklace will go for boys?"

"No! Not my necklace!" She says, still on the ground. "My mother gave this to me!"

Dick has seen enough. He opens the window and leaps out onto a nearby roof. His training as Robin the Boy Wonder shines through as he nimbly leaps from rooftop to rooftop, making his way closer to the scene. Once right over them, he leaps off the top of the roof, and kicks one of them in the face. He bounces off of them, lands on the ground and faces them.

"ON YOUR STOMACHS!!! ARMS SPREAD!!!"

"What the hell?" One of them says?

"YOU HEARD ME!!!" Dick says.

"Yeah." The leader says. "You heard the kiddy Batman wannabe. Hey, guys. Lets say we welcome him to Gotham…the only way we can."

The thugs take the command to heart, and charge at Dick, ready to "welcome" him. Dick responds by flooring two of them with a split-kick. One comes up and goes for a haymaker. But Dick easily ducks it and responds with a kick to the gut, then follows with a spin kick to the head that floors him. The last thug grabs a Trashcan lid and flings it at him. Dick, thinking quickly, grabs the lid and flings it back at the thug, cracking him in the head & knocking him out. But before Robin can breathe easy, he hears a gun being cocked. The leader has pulled out his weapon, and intends to use it.

"Let's see if your reflexes are as good as the 'Dead Knight'." He says. Robin stands frozen, not sure if he's quick enough to avoid the bullets. He thinks that this might be the end. But just as the thug leader opens fire, a figure leaps onto Dick and saves him from the bullets. They roll behind a nearby car, and under a streetlight, where Dick can get a clear look at his savior. He looks up to see that it's the last person on earth he ever expected to save him…Catwoman.


End file.
